Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg has made the same sorts of claims about coal relieving energy poverty that ex-PM Tony Abbott tried. With the same results.
Speaking on the ABC’s Insiders program concerning the approval of the highly controversial Carmichael coal mine in Queensland, Minister Frydenberg said there was a “strong moral case” for coal; based on the fact more than a billion people around the world don’t have access to electricity.
It’s a similar line to that used by ex- Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who in June last year referred to coal as one of “nature’s gifts“.
“For many decades at least coal will continue to fuel human progress as an affordable, dependable energy source for wealthy and developing countries alike,” said Mr. Abbott.
While it’s certainly true a huge number of people don’t have access to reliable electricity; many live in remote and rural locations where there is no mains grid. There is no infrastructure to deliver this so-called “gift of nature”. In fact, for many of these people, the most economical form of electricity is that delivered by wind and solar power.
Greens senator Larissa Waters said the idea of coal relieving energy poverty in India was a “sick joke“.
“Claiming there’s a moral case for coal exports confirms yet again how out of touch the Coalition is with the rest of the world,” she said.
Last week, Senator Waters lashed out at the re-approval of the mine and associated infrastructure.
“This climate disaster is set to turn the Great Barrier Reef into a highway for coal ships; suck up Queensland’s precious groundwater and threaten the black throated finch with extinction,” Senator Waters said.
“The rest of the world is turning away from coal, including India, which plans to end coal imports by 2017, and the future for Queensland is in clean energy.”
India’s government is pushing to double domestic coal production by 2021-22; which could mean an oversupply of hundreds of millions of tonnes of imported coal annually. As for imported coal providing cheap electricity, power stations in India burning it are apparently reporting losses.
In May last year, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) warned the global coal industry’s economic models were seriously flawed and major coal projects relying on export markets such as India presented a huge financial risk.
